A Minneapolis man pleaded guilty Thursday to assaulting Representative Ilhan Omar with a syringe during a January town hall, admitting he squirted a water-and-vinegar mixture at the congresswoman as she called for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's resignation. Anthony James Kazmierczak, 55, lunged toward Omar from the front row of the Jan. 27 event, shouting "You're splitting Minnesotans apart" before two security officers tackled him.

The attack occurred at the height of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota. According to the plea deal, Kazmierczak told a Minneapolis police officer after the assault, "I squirted vinegar." He said he quickly disclosed the syringe's contents were harmless because he "didn't want anybody to think she was in danger." His memory of the evening remains "fuzzy," he told the judge during Thursday's hearing in U.S. District Court.

Omar, who has represented the district since 2019, said the incident would not deter her. "I'm a survivor so this small agitator isn't going to intimidate me from doing my work," she said afterward. Kazmierczak faces up to eight years in federal prison on the assault charge. He also faces separate state charges including one felony count of making terroristic threats.